RFPs: Support the Frontier Technologies Program to pilot Technology Responsibly & Inclusively

The Hub is looking to work with a partner who specialises in responsible and inclusive technology; to review and update its current support offer provided to its innovations (pilots) and innovators (tech and delivery partners) to adopt a rigorous approach to responsible and inclusive early-stage tech development, and ensure innovations teams are applying responsible and inclusive approaches to developing early stage technologies, and are rigorously testing and are effectively proving (through evidence generation) the tech is responsible and inclusive.

For the purposes of this work, they define responsible and inclusive innovation as an approach to developing, testing and scaling innovation which:

• Is safe and does no harm e.g. environmentally, safeguards effectively
• Promotes inclusion and equity (reducing rather than exacerbating or entrenching existing inequities)
• Inclusive in design human-centered and participatory
• Promotes a localisation agenda and approach

The Objective and Type of Partner

• FT Hub seeks to engage a partner or technical consultant to provide support to FT Hub to enable the FT innovations (pilots) teams to effectively identify, explore, test and demonstrate (with evidence) the tech being developed and tested in a responsible and inclusive way, and therefore prove the innovations are on the trajectory to ensure equitable and safe impact.
• The purpose of this work is to help the Hub to evaluate its current approach and innovation coaching offer to supporting responsible and inclusive innovation and provide additional support to update the Hubs existing processes and ways of working so that the Hub confidently promotes responsible and inclusive innovation and does no harm or further exacerbates inequities. They also seek to update the monitoring approach, to ensure the Hub is effectively monitoring whether pilots are exploring key equity and inclusion considerations and implementing safeguarding practices.
• The opportunity can be for either an individual technical consultant or an organisation with a range of technical expertise. This is a global opportunity – open to individuals or organisations globally.
• The partner will conduct activities and analysis on FT Hub innovations and provide technical expertise on responsible emerging tech in early-stage tech development in LMICs (including implementation of best practice on Gender, Equality and Social Inclusion) and provide expertise in behavioural sciences and human centered design related to the development and testing of early-stage innovation.
• The partner will produce a light touch evaluation in current responsible tech approaches and provide a suite of resources e.g. frameworks, tools, approaches (aligned to FT Hub’s coaching innovation methods and practices) and identify key data metrics and indicators for FT Hub early-stage innovations to capture data that demonstrates the tech is responsible and inclusive. The aim for this work will be to create outputs that can be integrated by FT Hub coaches alongside existing FT coaching tools and workshops, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems.
• This is, in turn, will support FT Hub to monitor across a portfolio of innovations and have confidence that the technologies being produced are responsible and inclusive.

Phases

• Phase 1: Orientation of FT Hub Pilots and key definitions associated with ‘responsible’ tech agreed
  • Meet with core FT Hub innovation team (there are 4 members) to understand the processes and development of FT Hub innovations (4-5hrs consultations)
  • FT hub will introduce the partner to 8 different innovations/pilots with a range of frontier and emerging technologies in different contexts and sectors. For each consultation 2-3 hours with innovations coaches and entrepreneurs.
• Phase 2: Production of resources and approaches for FT Hub innovation coaches and entrepreneurs aligned to current innovation coaching processes and practices on FT Hub.
  • Draw on a range of existing expert opinion and literature on responsible technology, human centered design and behavioural science to produce evidence informed resources and tools.
  • Identify proposed updates to the FT Hub innovation method. Within scope for this work could be suggesting updates or changes to the key phases pilots pass through, activities they undertake, outputs they produce, and tools and support provided for pilots from the Hub.
• Phase 3: Development of a responsible monitoring framework that integrates into FT Hubs Theory of Change, and light touch data collection tools
  • Review of FT Hub Theory of Change (including all metric, indicators, assumptions) and identification of new (or enhanced) data metrics and indicators for monitoring a portfolio of ‘responsible’ FT Hub innovations aligned or complimentary of FT Hub ToC.
  • Design of light touch data collection tools for innovations/pilots or MEL team to use.
• Phase 4: Roll out of new responsible tech approach to FT Hub innovation coaches (2-3 weeks roll out)
  • 2 -3 training workshops with FT Hub innovation coaches to explain new processes, approaches, resources etc.
  • 2-3 training workshops to FT Implementing Team (partners) and FCDO staff to explain new processes, approaches and resources and share key concepts and best practice more generally on responsible tech in innovation.

Criteria

• The opportunity can be for either an individual technical consultant or an organisation with a range of technical expertise. This is a global opportunity – open to individuals or organisations globally.

For more information, visit Frontier Tech Hub.